Young looks rejuvenated after trade

Delmon Young is a corner outfielder who was the top overall draft pick in the 2003 MLB Draft. And when the Twins traded him to the Tigers last week, he had just four home runs and a .357 slugging percentage in 2011. Juan Pierre's slugging percentage is .339. Ryan Theriot's is .340. David Eckstein's career slugging percentage was .355. This isn't the type of power production teams look for in a top overall draft pick, someone who should be hitting in the middle of a batting order for a contender.

Well, as it turns out, that's exactly what Young is doing now. In just six games for Detroit, Young looks like the player he was last season -- when he finished 10th in MVP voting with 21 home runs, 46 doubles, 112 RBI and an .826 OPS. In six games for the Tigers -- alert the small sample police -- Young is hitting .308 with two home runs, six RBI and a .538 slugging percentage.

What changed? Did Young simply flip a switch since he's now playing for the first-place team? That's probably not fair. Young is still only 25 and has a ton of talent, so mountains and valleys in production are to be expected. Plus, his new manager, Jim Leyland, has batted Young third every game since joining the Tigers. That means the might Miguel Cabrera is his protection. For the Twins, Young was hitting sixth, seventh and even eighth at times for much of the past three months. And it probably is a ton easier to show up to the ballpark with a great attitude everyday when your team is in first place.

Whatever the reason, Young appears to be back, and he's giving the Tigers a shot in the arm -- likely en route to the AL Central title.